As fraud allegations linger, officials launch a way for Ohioans to report fraud
Auditor of State Keith Faber and Secretary of State Frank LaRose are taking steps to ramp up oversight and investigations amid ongoing allegations of fraud, many of which center on Somali immigrants and involve publicly funded public assistance programs, including child care.
The moves follow a statement that Gov. Mike DeWine issued as allegations of fraud in the Buckeye State lingered. DeWine’s spokesperson previously said that the alleged fraud is the unfortunate “cost of doing business.”
Faber added a new section to his department’s website dedicated to tips about potential fraud involving public benefits programs.
“We want to make sure that public resources that are supposed to be helping the most vulnerable among us are not lining the pockets of crooks,” he wrote in the press release.
Faber added that the department welcomes anyone with “evidence of crimes that involve public funds,” urging them to contact his department, saying he and his team “take these allegations very seriously, scrutinize any evidence of wrongdoing, and hold people accountable for their actions.”
“We will continue to investigate complaints about potential wrongdoing by public offices and pursue criminal prosecution when warranted,” he said. “We will do everything in our power to hold accountable those who abuse public resources.”
LaRose also responded to the recent Minnesota scandal in one of his Facebook posts, calling the fraud reports “alarming and dangerous” and saying that Ohioans “should do everything [they] can to ensure it’s not happening here.”
“We’re responsible for receiving articles of incorporation for new businesses,” he wrote. “We can (and do) investigate fraud related to the actual filing of new entities – for example, someone claiming to be someone they’re not, someone stealing a business’s identity, someone submitting fraudulent documents, etc.”
He noted that Ohio is a “national leader” in “aggressively investigating business start-ups,” highlighting his extensive efforts to implement various anti-fraud measures.
“If you suspect fraud, report it,” he wrote. “I’m confident every one of our statewide officeholders will pursue any means necessary to identify and prosecute wrongdoing, but we don’t just reject or cancel a business on prejudice and assumptions. We follow the law and due process.”
The Ohio Department of Children and Youth also launched “integrity reviews” of Ohio’s publicly funded childcare programs, requiring providers to submit attendance records and operating details for scrutiny.
State Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp., previously suggested a similar idea.
“We have over 5,000 childcare providers across the state of Ohio, and the law right now only requires one annual inspection of each facility. That’s absurd,” he wrote in a post to X. “In the General Assembly, we will be introducing legislation to ramp up oversight and enhance penalties for fraud.”
We have over 5,000 childcare providers across the state of Ohio and the law right now only requires one annual inspection of each facility.
That's absurd.
In the General Assembly, we will be introducing legislation to ramp up oversight and enhance penalties for fraud. pic.twitter.com/7d11poaC6Q
— Rep. Josh Williams (@JoshWilliamsOH) January 2, 2026
